What we put in our mouths is big news these days. More Americans are more overweight than ever before -- and it seems as though some new diet comes out every month to deal with the problem. But how is a person supposed to sort through all the stories about good carbs and bad carbs, good fats and bad fats, and figure out what to eat to stay healthy? The truth is, the principles of good nutrition haven't changed, no matter what the latest diet says you should or shouldn't eat. Whether you need to lose weight or just want to make sure your body is getting all the nutrients it needs, a few simple guidelines can help.

All foods are not created equal. Our bodies are designed to turn food into energy, but we need to fuel our bodies with the right foods for them to work properly. Since carbohydrate needs vary according to your activity level, you should think about how your body processes them. How often, for example, have you felt sluggish after eating a heavy meal, or felt your energy drop an hour or so after eating a high-sugar snack? If you're an athlete you may need as much as 60 percent of your calories from carbs. But if you're less active or if you have diabetes, you may need less. Eating balanced meals will give you more energy and help you stay active and fit.

If you try to get lots of colors on your plate, you'll find yourself eating a lot healthier. The vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber in fruits and vegetables help provide lifelong protection from a host of health problems, including cancer and heart disease. And if you make a habit of choosing complex carbohydrates from whole grains and beans, you'll also squeeze out the "bad" carbs from your diet -- the refined starches and sugars that make it so easy to gain weight.

For some people, it takes a subtle shift in meal-planning: Instead of thinking, "We have some chicken in the freezer, what can we make with that?" you might think, "We have some pasta and broccoli, and maybe we can throw in some spicy chicken for flavor." To learn more about what different colors can mean for your health, read our review of The Color Code: A Revolutionary Eating Plan for Optimum Health, written by experts on nutrition.

As important as knowing what to eat is knowing how much to eat. As a first step, you should do a reality check on what really constitutes a serving. This is the standard unit of measurement used by nutritionists, and there's a good chance your definition differs from theirs. For instance, a "standard" serving of meat or poultry is 3 ounces, about the size of a deck of cards. There's no law against eating two decks worth of steak or chicken, but you should know what you're getting: Double the fat and calories of a standard serving. Here's a rundown of standard serving sizes of various foods, adapted from the American Institute for Cancer Research:

•Chopped vegetables: 1/2 cup (a rounded handful)

•Raw leafy vegetables: 1 cup (the size of an adult fist)

•Fresh fruit: 1 medium fruit (or 1/2 cup chopped)

•Dried fruit: 1/4 cup (the size of a golf ball)

•Pasta or rice (cooked): 1/2 cup (a rounded handful)

•Nuts: 1/3 cup (a level handful)

•Cheese: 1.5 ounces (about the size of 4 dice)

•Meat: 3 ounces (about the size of a deck of cards)

You may notice that most "standard" servings seem small compared with real-world portions. The truth is, restaurant portions have ballooned in the past few decades, so now we actually believe that a half-pound steak, 10 breaded shrimps, and a cup of buttery mashed potatoes -- accompanied by a bottomless soda and followed by an ice cream sundae -- is a normal-size dinner.

Now that you know what kinds of foods make up a healthy diet -- and how much of them to eat -- here are a few ways to make sure they wind up on your plate:

•Healthy eating starts with healthy shopping. If you don't have any vegetables on hand, you won't cook them. Frozen vegetables have nearly the same nutritional value as very fresh ones, so don't be reluctant to use them -- they're easier to keep stocked, especially if you don't shop for groceries very often. Ditto for fruits that freeze well, like berries and juices.

•When you cruise the grocery aisles, make a habit of reading the labels. You might be amazed at what you see! Canned soup can have over 1,000 milligrams of sodium per serving -- nearly half the daily requirement -- and remember that most cans have two servings in them.

•Try writing down what you eat for a few days, so you can spot the weak points in your diet. Are you getting enough fruits and vegetables? Do you eat high-fiber foods regularly? Are you getting enough calcium?

•If you eat meat, go for the less fatty cuts, and bake, grill, or broil them instead of frying them. Eat chicken without the skin.

•Always have fruit and vegetables on hand for a healthy snack. Wash and peel them ahead of time if possible, so you can just grab them and go. Keep nonrefrigerated fruits like bananas and apples in a bowl on the counter where you can see them -- you'll be more likely to pick one up that way.

•Unless you're lactose intolerant, drink milk -- but avoid the fat in whole milk. If you don't like the taste of skim milk, try working your way toward it gradually: Drink 2 percent milk for a few months, then switch to 1 percent milk for a while, or mix 2 percent and 1 percent milk together. Making the final switch from 1 percent milk to skim milk won't seem like such a big jump. And if you are lactose intolerant, see our article on Getting Calcium Without the Cow.

For more articles on good nutrition, check out our Healthy Eating section.

-- Chris Woolston also contributed to this report.

References

First published March 24, 2004
Last updated October 27, 2008
Copyright © 2004 Consumer Health Interactive

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